Guns International #: 102835878
Seller's Inventory #: 233957

Category - Remington Revolvers - Antique - Antique Revolvers - Cartridge

Category
Remington Revolvers - Antique
Antique Revolvers - Cartridge

1870s ENGRAVED Antique REMINGTON .38 RF Cartridge Conversion New Model NAVY Remington New Model NAVY REVOLVER in .38 Rimfire

Description:
1870s ENGRAVED Antique REMINGTON .38 RF Cartridge Conversion New Model NAVY

Remington New Model NAVY REVOLVER in .38 Rimfire

Here we present an antique U.S. Remington New Model Navy Cartridge Conversion Revolver, made circa 1870 to 1875 in Ilion, New York. About 28,000 New Model Navy revolvers were made, some of them leaving the Remington factory in this configuration. This revolver has been converted from percussion to utilize .38 Rimfire cartridges, making these very desirable in the budding metallic cartridge revolver market. Smith & Wesson’s infamous Rollin White Patent was just expiring. The U.S. Navy even experimented with a small contract of these revolvers in this configuration, with a loading gate and ejector rod built in. These Navy models were fitted with hinged and latched loading gates, and nearly all came with ejector assemblies. These revolvers sold for a whopping $9.00.

With the end of the Civil War, the U.S. military found itself in possession of hundreds of thousands of percussion revolvers that it no longer needed, and almost immediately started the process of selling off nearly all of the “secondary” percussion revolvers, which were those not produced by Colt or Remington. The Ordnance Department also realized that the day of the percussion revolver was over, and that metallic cartridges had made percussion arms obsolete. The success of the Spencer Rifles and Carbines, as well as the Henry Rifle had proven the reliability of metallic cartridges, but a patent controlled by Smith & Wesson had prevented military caliber metallic cartridge revolvers from being developed. Smith & Wesson held the rights to Rollin White’s patent on the bored through cylinder, a concept that was the very heart of metallic cartridge revolver design. At the end of the Civil War, the U.S. Ordnance Department started looking for ways to modernize and alter their stock of percussion revolvers to cartridge. They also started looking for a new cartridge revolver design, but the Rollin White patent effectively tied the hands of the major handgun contractors Colt and Remington. But, in 1868 Remington took the path of least resistance and agreed to pay a royalty to Smith & Wesson for the right to use the Rollin White patent. Remington would continue to pay this royalty until the expiration of White’s patent protection in April of the following year. During that time, Remington would produce 4,574 cartridge revolvers with bored through cylinders, getting a jump on Colt in the cartridge revolver market. It is possible, if not likely, that this example is a factory original cartridge gun. It is marked with the conversion assembly number “623”.

The overall condition is good. Gray patina throughout. The action is strong. The bore is in good condition with good rifling. The grips show use. The right panel escutcheon is not flush. Both the serial number and conversion number match throughout.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 7-1/2 inches.

Caliber: .38 Rimfire

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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ancestryguns

$1800

#233957
 

Price: $1,800.00                     Buy Now

Antique: Yes